Oregon Ducks Weekly Women’s Volleyball Digest

The Ducks won the Oregon Volleyball Classic for the third straight year, opening the season with wins over UC Irvine, 3-0, and Portland State, 3-2.

Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - OREGON THIS WEEK: The Ducks (2-0, 0-0) hit the road for the first time in 2006 and play three matches in California, starting with Long Beach State on Wednesday at 7:30 PM Oregon also plays Cal State Northridge (Friday, 7 PM) and Utah State (Saturday, 11 AM) in a tournament hosted by Northridge.

ABOUT THE DUCKS: The Oregon volleyball team welcomes seven newcomers and returns six players from last season’s squad, which finished 12-18 overall, 1-17 in the Pac-10 Conference. Among the returnees are SO OH Mira Djuric, a Pac-10 All-Freshman team member in 2005, and SO L Katie Swoboda, who earned honorable mention Pac-10 All-Freshman status.

HEAD COACH JIM MOORE: Oregon head coach Jim Moore is in his second season in Eugene and 18th overall as a collegiate head coach. In his inaugural campaign at UO, Moore led the Ducks to their highest win total (12) and winning percentage (.400) in 14 seasons. Moore has compiled an overall mark of 366-174 (.678) during a career that has also included stops at Northern Michigan, Kansas State, Texas and Chico State. His 1993 Northern Michigan team won the NCAA II National Championship.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE: The 17th-ranked (CVU.com top 25) 49ers (3-0) opened the 2006 season with three wins in as many matches, defeating Missouri, Alabama State and Villanova by identical 3-0 counts during a home tournament last weekend. JR MB Alexis Crimes led a balanced attack with 27 kills and a .447 hitting percentage over the nine games. LBSU, the Big West Conference defending champion, is coached by Brian Gimmillaro, who has a career record of 581-135 in 21-plus seasons. The 49ers hold a 5-1 edge in six all-time meetings with the Ducks, but the two teams have not played since 1994.

SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors (2-1) began their 2006 campaign with wins against San Diego State, 3-1, and Hofstra, 3-2, sandwiched around a loss in straight sets to San Diego last weekend. SO OH Harmony Burdine is Northridge’s top hitter averaging 3.17 kills and nearly four points per game. SR MB Darla Donaldson, who stands 6-4, averaged 1.58 blocks per game over the 12 games played. The Matadors, who are coached by Jeff Stork (72-70, six years overall), were picked seventh in the eight-team Big West Conference preseason poll. Oregon leads the all-time series, 5-2, and has won the past three, including a four-game win in 2004.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE: Utah State is 2-1 on the season after finishing in second-place at the 2006 Hilton Albuquerque Classic with wins against New Mexico, 3-1, and UC Riverside, 3-0, and a loss to Stephen F. Austin, 3-1. The Aggies are led by JR OH Amanda Nielson, who is averaging 4.50 kills, 1.75 digs, and 0.75 blocks per game, while JR OH Beth Hodge is averaging 2.82 kills, 2.36 digs, and 0.55 blocks per game. As a team, Utah State is hitting .128 on the season and holding its opponents to a .104 hitting percentage. Grayson DuBose enters his first season as a head volleyball coach after spending the last four seasons as an assistant on Brigham Young’s men’s volleyball team. Oregon leads the all-time series with Utah State, 4-3. USU won the last meeting, 3-0, in 1998.

LITTLE COMES UP BIG: SR OH Erin Little had her best match as a Duck - statistically speaking - in UO’s 3-2 triumph over Portland State on Aug. 27. Little set career marks for points (23.5), kills (16), and service aces (6). She became just the tenth Oregon volleyball player to have six or more aces in a match and is now tied for fourth on the single-match record list.

FASTEST TO 500: SO OH Mira Djuric is 17 kills shy of 500 for her career and is on pace to reach the benchmark faster than any other player in Oregon history since full statistical tracking began in 1982.

DIGGING MACHINE: SO L Katie Swoboda’s play at the libero position since arriving at Oregon may prompt a change in the position’s name to something along the lines of “Swobero” or “Liboda” before her career is done. Swoboda ranks first all-time in digs per game at UO, averaging 4.84 per game through her first 102 games in green and yellow. Not only is she the career leader - Swoboda is the only player in the top 10 with an average higher than four.

BITTER CLOSING IN ON HISTORY: SR MB Kristen Bitter is four total blocks away from cracking Oregon’s career top 10 list. If she reaches the mark, she will become the first Duck to have played in the 21st century to make the list.

MOORE OF THE SAME: Head coach Jim Moore improved his non-conference record at Oregon to 13-1 with two wins last week. That translates into a .929 winning percentage, easily the highest of any coach in Oregon’s 39-year history.

FAB FROSH: When FR MB Sonja Newcombe signed to play for the Ducks last fall, she became just the sixth Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 player to make Eugene her college home. Newcombe is UO’s first Fab 50 recruit since current teammate SR S Heather Madison (2003).

NO GO(rana): JR OH Gorana Maricic, a Serbian transfer from Northwood University, will redshirt in 2006. Maricic, a NCAA II All-American last season, was not granted a one-time release by her former school and will be eligible to play for the Ducks in 2007.

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